The name ”Pretoria” will be changed to ”Tshwane” on all route and direction signs across South Africa, the Tshwane metro council said on Friday.
Communication and marketing head Console Tleane confirmed that media reports about the name change were true.
Earlier, the Beeld newspaper reported that an internal letter had been circulating in the metro querying whether ”Pretoria” needed to be changed to ”Tshwane” or the ”City of Tshwane”.
The latest news about the road markings name change lands right in the middle of debate about what the legal status of the name Tshwane is.
On Thursday, Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa’s office confirmed the premier had advised the Tshwane mayor that the name Tshwane did not need South African Geographical Names Council (SAGNC) approval.
The Premier’s spokesperson, Simon Zwane, said Shilowa told the mayor the SAGNC process duplicated an already completed provincial process.
Subsequently, the mayor on her own accord chose to withdraw the application from the SAGNC, said Zwane.
However, on Friday, the Freedom Front Plus (FF+), the Democratic Alliance and AfriForum announced they would be seeking legal action against the Tshwane municipality’s planned road-marking changes.
The groups say they believe that Tshwane remains only a reference to a government structure — a municipality — and not an actual place.
Phakamani Mthembu, director of Living Heritage — under which the SAGNC falls — said his understanding was that Tshwane referred to a ”metro structure”.
He said he could not comment on whether, without SAGNC approval, Tshwane could also be used to refer to a city.
Usually the SAGNC sends recommendations of new or changed place names to Minister Pallo Jordan, who then approves or vetoes the registration of the names.
It was from of this process of obtaining ministerial approval that the Tshwane mayor withdrew.
SAGNC’s Mthembu said he was sure that the municipality, which was rolling out the Tshwane road markings, ”had done their homework” on the legal implications of the action.
He said groups such as the FF+ and AfriForum had ”vested interests” and had threatened the SAGNC with court action even if the name ”Tshwane” for a city received ministerial approval. — Sapa